Drake Chemical

Fact Sheet: September 1995

EPA Holds Public Meeting

On August 31, 1995, the U.S. EPA held a public meeting to update the
Lock Haven community on the status of the Drake Chemical Site. The meeting
was held at the Clinton County Courthouse in the large courtroom on the
second floor. The meeting began at 7:00 p.m. and ended at 11:00 p.m.

At the meeting, the EPA Remedial Project Manager (RPM), Roy Schrock,
and the EPA Region III Director of Hazardous Waste, Tom Voltaggio, summarized
what has been happening at the site since the last public meeting in February.
Among the topics discussed were:

the trial burn risk assessments,

inversion modeling,

air monitoring,

dioxin issues,

the trial burn schedule,

incinerator permit issues,

the thermal relief vent, and

the possibility of forming an Environmental Task Force,

This fact sheet summarizes the discussions on these topics.

Trial Burn Risk Assessment

EPA is in the process of preparing an indirect risk assessment that will
measure the effects of incineration particles on the food chain in the
Lock Haven community. EPA will look specifically at sensitive locations
such as dairy and produce farms to develop criteria for the indirect risk
assessment.

In addition to the indirect risk assessment, EPA is preparing a direct
risk assessment to review the effects of incineration on breathing. EPA
will use information from the different inversion models and data about
the amounts of particles released from the incinerator to develop the
direct risk assessment. EPA plans to complete the assessment this fall.

Inversion Modeling

EPA and its contractor, OHM/RUST, used an air dispersion model titled
"Industrial Source Complex - Short Term - Draft" (ISCSTDFT)
to determine the locations for the off-site air monitoring stations. Additionally,
EPA will simulate air stagnation using the "Wind Valley" air
dispersion model. This model will allow EPA to determine the level of
stagnation that will increase the concentration of particles from the
incinerator in the atmosphere. This model will predict higher particle
concentrations even more accurately than the ISCSTDFT model.

In the near future, EPA and RUST will purchase a new meteorologic station
that uses an acoustic beam to measure the thermal structure of the atmosphere
and the wind speed at different altitudes. The equipment will identify
the exact meteorologic conditions that exist during an inversion and help
EPA determine how long the inversions last.

Air Monitoring

Before excavating the site soils, RUST conducted a background air quality
investigation. During this investigation, RUST collected samples for a
24-hour period, one day per week, over an eight week period. The report
on this investigation is available at the site repositories. (See the
first pageof this fact sheet for repository locations.)

During the excavation activities, RUST conducted a 30-day air quality
investigation. RUST began the investigation on April 21, 1995, and sampled
the air every eight and 24 hours. The results of this investigation are
also available at the site repositories.

Beginning this month, RUST began air monitoring activities within the
Lock Haven community. The air monitors collect samples from four locations
in Lock Haven: the top of the hill in Castenea; near the Piper Airport;
near the hospital; and near the Keystone School District Administration
Building. RUST will analyze the samples from these locations for metals,
volatile compounds, and semivolatile compounds. RUST will conduct monitoring
for a 24-hour period every six days.

Dioxin Issues

EPA plans to test for dioxins before, during, and after the soil incineration
trial burn to find out whether incineration will dramatically change the
dioxin levels in the surrounding environment. If EPA does not detect any
dramatic changes, it will continue with the soil incineration as planned.
EPA also will test for dioxins before, during, and after the actual soil
incineration.

Before, during, and after incineration, EPA will sample moss, lichen,
and leaves and calculate whether dioxins have risen as a result of the
incineration. EPA will check the leaves of the same trees once a year,
and will test moss and lichen every three months.

EPA's original plan was to test crops and farm animals during the test
burn and during the actual incineration scheduled to begin next year.
However, EPA determined that this plan was not practical since dioxin
is found only in fat layers and farm animals would have to be cut to be
tested. Thus, the same animal could not be tested three times. Additionally,
area farmers wanted the results of crop testing to be kept confidential,
which EPA can not guarantee because of the Freedom of Information Act
(FOIA). EPA also was concerned that buyers would be hesitant to purchase
products from area farms if EPA were to conduct sampling for contaminants
in produce and livestock.

The Trial Burn Schedule

The trial burn schedule consists of three stages. The Trial Burn Plan,
available at the site repositories, describes these stages in detail.
The first phase is the official trial burn which establishes the necessary
operating conditions for the incinerator. The second phase is called the
risk burn. During this phase, EPA will sample over 60 chemical compounds
and will use the results from these samples in the risk assessment. The
final phase is the temperature burn phase. This phase ensures that the
secondary chamber of the incinerator operates at 1,800 Fahrenheit. The
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) requires that
the chamber operate at this temperature.

The official trial burn, the risk burn, and the temperature burn will
involve a series of "runs," each lasting approximately three
hours. All "runs" will be conducted within a 60-day period.
The actual schedule for the trial burn consists of the following runs:

2 mini-runs for the trial burn

3 trial burn runs with the possibility for 1 more trial burn run

2 mini-runs for the risk burn

2 risk-burn runs

2 mini-runs for the temperature burn

2 temperature burn runs.

EPA will notify the Lock Haven community before conducting any trial
burns.

Incinerator Permit Issues

EPA currently has a draft operating permit for the incinerator which
allows it to conduct the trial burn. The final incinerator operating permit
must meet the same requirements that PADEP places on any new incinerator
in Pennsylvania. PADEP incinerator requirements include establishing standard
operating temperatures, soil feed rates, baghouse pressure limits, particle
release rates, and continuous release monitors. In addition, the incinerator
operators must meet established performance criteria and reporting requirements.
After EPA obtains the results from the trial burn, PADEP will finalize
the incinerator operating permit. EPA expects PADEP to complete the final
permit in March 1996.

Thermal Relief Vent (TRV)

A TRV is a vent installed at the top of the secondary combustion chamber
on an incinerator. It releases hot combustion gases during normal or emergency
shutdown procedures to prevent damaging the bags in the baghouse.

Normal shutdown procedures for the TRV include (1) shutting off all waste
feed streams; (2) operating burners in the rotary kiln and the secondary
combustion chamber for 30 minutes to allow for the treatment of all wastes
within the system; (3) shutting down the burners; (4) stopping the operation
of the kiln, conveyors, and water feeds; and (5) stopping the draft fan
and opening the TRV. Any emissions released through the TRV during normal
shutdown procedures will be minimal.

The TRV also might open during an emergency shutdown. An emergency shutdown
can be brought on by failure of the draft fan, excessive temperatures
in the incinerator, or power failures. During an emergency shutdown, waste
and fuel feed streams and the combustion air and draft fans are immediately
stopped. The kiln and ash conveyor will continue to operate if power is
available, and the TRV will open to allow the hot gases from the secondary
combustion chamber to escape into the air.

Most of the emissions from the TRV already will have been treated in
the incinerator before being released into the air and will consist mainly
of inorganic particles from the site soils. Recent sampling of the site
soils revealed that inorganic concentrations generally fell within the
natural range for soils in the area.

Drake Chemical Site Environmental Task Force to be Organized

On August 31, 1995, EPA met with the Lock Haven Environmental Advisory
Committee. At this meeting, EPA suggested that the committee help form
an environmental "task force" for the Drake Chemical Site. A
task force is a committee comprised of representatives of various community
organizations. The group will help review and disseminate information
to Lock Haven residents and the local media. The task force also will
work closely with EPA to ensure that the community is provided with timely
and accurate information on the status of Drake Chemical Site and the
outcome of the various tests and studies. The task force will serve as
a clearinghouse for questions. Task force members will direct individual
citizen's questions to the appropriate parties and ensure timely responses.
The task force will distribute information to the community and media
through press releases and public meetings. EPA will work closely with
the task force in order to provide it with accurate information.

EPA suggested that the task force meet on a regular basis and that EPA
attend these meetings only when necessary. The Clinton County Board of
Commissioners may take the first steps to form the Drake Chemical Site
Task Force at an upcoming meeting.

Do you have a question or comment about the Drake Chemical Site?

If you do, please fill out this form and return it to Vance Evans, the
Drake Chemical Site Community Involvement Coordinator, at the address
listed below.